Scott Brown: 2012 was great for Celtic.. 2013 can be even better

THE Parkhead skipper led the Bhoys to the SPL flag and an historic victory over Barcelona last year but thinks this year could be even better.

THERE’S no doubt 2012 was a momentous year for Celtic but skipper Scott Brown is determined to make 2013 even better.

Brown led the Parkhead outfit to the SPL title in May and was the driving force behind the history-defining victory against Barcelona six months later.

The triumph over the greatest club side in the world helped secure Neil Lennon’s men a place in last 16 of the Champions League and set up a mouth-watering clash with Juventus.

Brown will enter his sixth year at Celtic when the Ne’erday Bells ring out and he believes the current squad is the best equipped to challenge on four different fronts.

The SPL is a pretty much a given with Rangers out of the picture for the foreseeable future, while the Hoops are strong favourites to win both the League and Scottish Cups.

Bookmakers and UEFA chief executive Michel Platini don’t think much of their chances in the Champions League but Brown, unsurprisingly, doesn’t see it that way.

Asked if he was expecting a special season the captain said: “Yeah, I would say so. Our squad can bounce back from anything.

“We’ve got composure on the ball so we’ve got a lot to look forward to.

“We’re still in four tournaments and that’s why you come to a club like Celtic. We want to go as far as we possibly can in every one of them. In 2013 we want to go on a good run and have good form.

Tony Watt wheels away to celebrate his winner

“I’m looking forward to the last 16 of the Champions League but there’s a lot of games before then so I’ll just take that as it comes.

“It’s probably the best squad I’ve seen. We have a lot of injuries just now so it’s been hard. But the players who have come in have been wonderful.

“The more games we play the more fans see they’re better players and everyone in that dressing room believes in themselves. We know we’re a good squad and we’ve really got to kick on now.”

Despite sitting top of the SPL with a six-point lead and a game in hand, Celtic ended the year on a downer by losing 1-0 at Easter Road on Saturday.

Defeat at the hands of his former club left Brown less than amused but he feels it did prove nothing can be taken for granted in the top flight. He said: “A six-point lead is not the worst but we don’t enjoy losing to anyone.

“We’ve got a winning mentality at Celtic and we want to continue that. Hibs did what they set out to, defended and counter-attacked really well, and scored a goal.

“But I think we had 75, 80 per cent of possession and created a lot of chances.

“We just didn’t have the quality in the final third to finish them off.

“It shows the league is definitely not over. It’s going to be hard, especially going away to places like Hibs, Dundee United and Aberdeen. We’ve got to pick up our form.

“It shows you the SPL is getting better. People are doubting Scottish football but we are doing really well. I know it’s hard financially for clubs but they seem to be bringing younger people through and that shows it’s working.”

Georgios Samaras looks on as Scott Brown breaks forward.

Celtic have the opportunity to get the weekend defeat out of their system tomorrow against a Motherwell side who’ve lost just one of their last nine. Brown said: “Hopefully we can get back to winning ways at Celtic Park. Motherwell are doing really well. They had a dip about a month ago but seem to be on good form now.

“It going to be a hard game but we’re looking forward to it.”

After the New Year fixtures the SPL will go into cold storage for a fortnight as a mini version of the winter break returns north of the border.

Celtic will spend part of it in the Spanish sunshine and Brown, who has been plagued by a chronic hip problem for much of the campaign, is relishing the chance to recharge his batteries.

He added: “We’ve had a lot of games but I’ve missed quite a few of them so it’s probably harder for a lot of the other lads than it’s been for me.

“We’ve got five or six first-team players out injured, so it’s been hard with the amount of games.

“We’ve not got the biggest squad in the world so a two-week break will be wonderful.”